did you have your patient sign the medical release stating that they do not want treatment?

Comment moderated for rule-breaking.. Show it anyway

That makes no sense

Ummm. Try writing that again, except this time make sense.

I think he means his ex-wife also had a malpractice suit brought against her, but it was because she didn’t want to treat a homeless person, so he’s taking OP’s account of things with a grain of salt.

if you ask me, that lawsuit doesn't hav a leg - or in this case, a foot - to stand on.

So now we know DocBastard's next blog entry!

You can heal with sterilized maggots to eat the dead tissue, but the fact that bone is exposed and gangrene is set in, it may not be savable.

The patient bill of rights state you can refuse treatment... did you refuse to treat the foot or did they walk away from the suggested treatment?

I doubt they walked away from treatment. At least not very far.

Doctor, I suggest you consult a lawyer instead of FML.

Thanks Captain Obvious

To many big words.....WHY?!?!

Because literacy

Once upon a time, maggots ,which are icky bad worms, were eating eating the person's toesies because the skin was sicky and dying. He went to the doctor, but then said he doesn't want help. Now the doctor is in biiiig trouble for not helping and the doctor is sad

Where would you like me to start?
Maggots: baby flies
Gangrene: a type of infection in which you usually heal with amputation
Metatarsals: the inside of your toes

It's such a pity that you don't have access to an information network that will allow you to instantly look up the meaning of words you don't know.... Oh, wait.

I hope you made him sign a paper saying that he is refusing treatment.

I guess you should have asked for a court order, than used the bondage equipment in your closet to tie up this patient while you performed surgery on him.

Based on how he declined your treatment and decided to press malpractice charges over a decision he made, I doubt you were successful with getting him to sign a "refusal of treatment" form. If that is the case, I sure hope there is a section in his records where you mentioned he refused to sign it and were made aware of the risks of not immediate treatment. There is not much you can do but rely on detailed documentation to protect yourself.

Right. It helps a lot if the doctor documents in triplicate, in three languages, and has witnesses (other docs or nurses) write their own documentation of what they saw; in this case, refusal of treatment.

Was the patient's name I hate leg puns?